Where are you performing it and why is it the right fit for your piece?

It’s an honor to bring this play, which is so much about cultural identity and struggling to find a place, to the Julia de Burgos Art Center. The center is named for the Puerto Rican poet, and is located in East Harlem, a historic center of Nuyorican culture.

What’s next for you?

Working on my thesis for Columbia School of the Arts with my mentor, Kristoffer Diaz.

Who is your biggest inspiration right at this moment and why?

My biggest inspiration right in this moment is the cast and crew of this show. As a playwright, it’s always humbling to see a whole team of great artists come together to bring my story to life. Aside from that, I’ve been catching up on reading Maria Irene Fornés.

Matt Barbot is a writer and actor from Brooklyn, NY. He began telling stories before he could write, drawing pictures of new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle adventures. His plays have been performed in New York, Miami, LA, and Pennsylvania. El Coquí Espectácular and the Bottle of Doom was a finalist in the 2014 Repertorio Español Nuestras Voces competition, was workshopped at The Brick’s 2014 Comic Book Theater Festival, and read as part of the 2016 Crossing Borders Festival at Two River Theater; it will soon be performed at the Julia De Burgos Performing Arts Center, funded in part by the 2016 Kevin Spacey Foundation Artist of Choice Award in US Theater. Infallibility was produced as part of the 2013 New York International Fringe Festival, and has been published online at Indie Theater Now in the Best of Fringe NYC 2013 collection. His short play A List of Some Shit I’ve Killed will soon be published by Stage Rights as part of Red Bull Theater Shorts Volume III. During his time at Latino cultural website Remezcla, Matt created the web series Bodega Chat, and wrote the the branded short The Perfect Play, starring Victor Cruz of the New York Giants. Matt is currently pursuing his MFA in playwriting at Columbia University, where he writes stories about stories. His upcoming thesis play will be mentored by Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity).

EL COQUÍ ESPECTACULAR AND THE BOTTLE OF DOOM tells the story of Alex, a comic book artist whose ideas might be “too Puerto Rican,” has begun secretly dressing up as his creation: El Coquí Espectacular, defender of Nuyoricans in all five boroughs! When his brother Joe risks being fired from a project for not being Puerto Rican enough, the two, with the help of a young photographer named Yesica, hatch a plan: to debut El Coquí at the Puerto Rican Day Parade and prove themselves to the world. El Coquí Espectacular and the Bottle of Doom examines the ways in which we define our heritage and ourselves.

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Published by malinism

Malini is a native New Yorker who has been involved in the arts for her entire life. She's served the theatre in many aspects of which she's very proud – actress, director, producer, stage manager, costume designer, prop designer, theatre reviewer, publicist and most recently writer/monologist. She received her BA in Theatre Arts and English Literature from Baruch College and her MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School. In 2003, Malini and her husband, Ian, created Black Henna Productions with a handful of innovative artists. Every member of the company collaborates on every piece, either writing, acting, directing, designing, or filling any other role that fit their own personal skills with a commitment to bring new, exciting, and challenging theatre to the world. She is an associate member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women. Malini received the Woman of Distinction Award for her contribution to Media, Arts and Culture from the City of New York in 2008. She is also a Person of Godspell which ran at Circle in the Square on Broadway from 2011-2012.
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